Electricity Flashcards
What is electricity?
Electricity is the movement of current around in a circuit
What is the symbol for current
I
What is current measured in
Amperes (A)
What is the formula for current
I = V/R
What is a series circuit
A series circuit is a circuit that has only one path for current to flow without any branches
What is a parallel circuit
A parallel circuit is a circuit that has multiple paths for current to flow known as branches
What are some advantages of parallel circuits
- Components in the circuit can be turned on and off independently.
- When one component breaks down, the rest of the circuit continues to work. Unless it is the main battery or the switch.
How does current flow through a parallel circuit
The individual branches all collectively add up to the total amount of current flowing in the circuit.
What is the symbol for voltage
V
What is voltage measured in
volts
What instrument measures voltage
Voltmeter
Sometimes, we refer to sources of energy like cells, batteries or power supplies as
The supply
Most components have a
voltage rating
How does voltage flow through a series circuit
The components add up to the total voltage.
What happens to the voltage when you add more components in a series circuit
The components will get a smaller share of the voltage
What happens to the current in a series circuit when you add more components
The current decreases because there is more resistance.
How does voltage flow in a parallel circuit
The voltage in each of the branches of a parallel circuit are equal to the voltage of the supply
What happens to the current in a parallel circuit when you add more branches
The current increases because more branches allows the current to flow easier because of the added paths and also reduces resistance
What happens to the current in a single branch when you add more components
The current decreases in that branch.
What is resistance
Resistance is a measure of how easy or difficult it is for electrons to moe through a material
Resistance is measured in
Ohms
Why does electricity flow through conductors easily
Conductors, such as copper have very low resistance allowing the current to flow
Why does electricity struggle to flow through insulators
Insulators have very high resistance, lowering current
